January 2009 Archives

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Friday, January 30, 2009

According to Internet Retailer's recent monthly survey, retailers are creating interactive page treatments and adding video, customer reviews and other advanced features. Merchants also are making site optimization a top priority and redesigning their web sites to achieve speedier navigation and faster performance.

The survey finds retailers updating their web sites, with 49.9% of merchants having rolled out a new design in the past year, including:

• 26.6% in the last six months
• 13.3% within 90 days

Improved site optimization is the top priority for 72.9% of merchants, followed by:

• Clearly organized home, category and product pages at 62.4%
• Better navigation at 49.4%
• Improved site search at 47.1%
• Faster checkout at 40%

With a more business-oriented approach to web site design, 81.7% of merchants also expect their latest redesign to attract a higher number of visitors and shoppers, while:

• 76.7% anticipate higher sales,
• 66.7% a higher sales conversion,
• 50% improved customer service and
• 48.3% better multi-channel sales.

David Wertheimer, director of strategy for Alexander Interactive Inc., notes "The fact that retailers are listing site optimization as their top design objective... says they want to create images and write text that do a better job of making them stand out on... major search engines."

The Internet Retailer survey finds that 43.3% of merchants will update their e-commerce sites with video this year, followed by 40% with personalized product recommendations, 36.7% with customer reviews and ratings, and 35% with product configuration tools.

"... Retailers... need to select and implement page treatments and advanced features that deliver a truly unique customer experience." Continued Wertheimer.

The survey finds that

• 40% of retailers will do their next major redesign in-house
• 20% will use a combination of internal staff and their incumbent design firm
• 15% will give the job to their current agency
• Of the retailers that do their own design work, 80% employ three or fewer full-time designers and web developers

61.2% of participants in the survey say limited personalization, or advanced features and functions that let shoppers see related items, store their preferences and update their personal information, are the biggest drawback to their current design, compared with 49.4% with outdated home, category and product pages, 45.9% that have no interactive applications, and 41.2% that only have limited advanced features or functions.

Please visit here to see the entire article and find additional information from Internet Retailer.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Thursday, January 29, 2009

According to Deloitte's State of the Media Democracy survey, three-quarters of Millennials (ages 14 to 25) view the computer as more of an entertainment device than their television. Ed Moran, Deloitte director of product innovation, notes that "This (early-adopter) generation of consumers was the first to be raised on the Internet and is united across borders and cultures by their digital media preferences, so the implications for global marketers are unprecedented."  

Across five surveyed countries, Millennials are the most active in gaming, music and Internet use for socializing:

• 80% of Millennials are regularly searching, downloading and listening to music over the Internet
• 73% are also regularly socializing online (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards)
• 59% of Millennials use their mobile phone as an entertainment device, versus an average of 33% of all consumers.
• Millenials are spending one-third less time watching their television than are other generations.

Ken August, Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. Media and Entertainment leader, says "What is less clear is the degree to which Millennial spending power will ebb with the economic sea change we're experiencing. Boomers (ages 43 to 61) already possess more discretionary income than any other generation...

Consumers across geographies rank television advertising as having the most impact on their buying decisions. Magazine, online and newspaper ads occupy a second tier of influence across all countries, with radio advertising influence only placing as high as fifth:

A small percentage of consumers surveyed in all five countries consider cell phone advertising the most influential form of advertising, ranking as high as fifth in Brazil. In Japan, ads in blogs are rated as fifth most influential, while in the United Kingdom, ads in video games and social networking sites are tied for ninth most influential. German consumers rank billboard or outdoor advertising as sixth most influential. Search engine results and banner advertising are the two most influential forms of internet advertising across all five countries.

Cell phones have evolved from being a status symbol for the business elite to a ubiquitous multifunctional accessory. A third of consumers surveyed across all five countries state that they use their cell phone as an entertainment device:

• 50% in Brazil
• 34% in Japan
• 33% in the United Kingdom
• 32% of in the United States
• 26% in Germany

Camera and text messaging are the most commonly used phone features overall, except in Japan where e-mailing is much more common than texting (88% versus 31% of Japanese consumers using these features frequently/occasionally).

Across all countries, consumers surveyed are using their cell phones to watch user-generated videos (20% in the United Kingdom and United States), and professionally created content such as TV, movies and news (33% in Japan.) Early-adopter Millennials are the primary drivers of feature applications including texting, video, gaming, music downloading and listening and social networking.

Television remains the top choice across all five countries for video viewing but the personal computer, cell phone and handheld portable devices are gaining in popularity among video consumers. Consumers surveyed not only view video on all these devices, but also watch television programming and download music, and they want the ability to move that content to any device seamlessly. 75% of respondents in Brazil want this ability, as do 49% in both the United States and Japan, 44% in the United Kingdom and 31% in Germany.

In a typical seven-day week, consumers online for just personal interests/social reasons include:

• Germany... 11.3 hours per week
• United States... 12 hours
• United Kingdom... 13.2  
• Japan... 16.4

The most eye-opening comparison, says the report, came from Brazil, where consumers spend approximately 9.8 hours a week watching television, but 19.3 hours a week pursuing personal/social interests online.

The online survey polled 8,824 consumers between the ages of 14 and 75, across five different countries: Brazil, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.  The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points. 

For more information on the study from Deloitte, and how to get the complete study, please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

According to a new research study conducted by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), among businesspeople over age 21, revealed that advertising specialties beat out all forms of TV, radio and print advertising as the most cost-effective advertising medium available. The average cost-per-impression of an advertising specialty item is $0.004, making it less expensive per impression than nearly any other media. According to Nielsen Media data, says the report, the CPI for a national magazine ad is $0.033; a newspaper ad is $0.0129; a prime time TV ad is $0.019; a cable TV ad is $0.007; a syndicated TV ad is $0.006; and a spot radio ad is $0.005.

Among key findings, results indicate that:

• 84% of people remember the advertiser on a product they receive
• 42% have a more favorable impression of an advertiser after receiving an advertising specialty
• 24% indicate that they are more likely to do business with an advertiser on items they receive
• 62% of respondents have done business with the advertiser on a product after receiving it
• Writing instruments are the most commonly-owned advertising specialty, followed by shirts, caps and bags  

81% of all promotional products were kept because they were considered useful.

Additional findings included:

• More than three-quarters of respondents have had their items for about seven months
• Bags were reported to be used most frequently, with respondents indicating that they use their bags on average nine times per month
• Bags deliver the most impressions, with 1,038 impressions per month on average

Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of the Advertising Specialty Institute, concludes that "...  this research advises marketers and business owners to invest in advertising specialties now more than ever... Ad specialties provide measurable results for a... reasonable investment... (and) are gifts that break through the information clutter, reach consumers on a personal level, and provide real impact in a creative way."

Please visit ASI here for additional information and a link to the PDF file.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Monday, January 26, 2009

A new survey from the Direct Marketing Association, complementing earlier research that focused on the Hispanic market from the consumer view point, presents the business side of marketing to Hispanics to provide benchmarks on the use of direct marketing methods in order to reach the Hispanic audience.

Anne B. Frankel, DMA senior research manager and author of the report, summarizes by saying "... Hispanic marketers find certain media channels and segmentation tools are more effective in increasing response rates among Hispanic consumers... therefore, marketing to Hispanics involves a different cache of tools than marketing to a general audience... it is crucial that direct marketers understand the nuances... "

Partnering with PSA and Zubi Advertising to provide extensive commentary based on their knowledge of marketing to the Hispanic audience, the report notes that:

• 48.1% of marketers who promote to Hispanics report that the majority of their Hispanic-specific promotions are written or spoken in both Spanish and English. 20.8% say that most of their promotions are in English only, and 19.5% have separate English and Spanish language versions
• 77% of the companies that market to Hispanics tailor their non-catalog direct mail messaging to this audience
• 84.4% of respondents who market to Hispanics say that they do not create different versions of their promotions based on dialect and colloquialism
• 64.9% percent of Hispanic marketers do not create different versions of their promotions for different US locations
• 91.8% of all companies that market to Hispanics use non-catalog direct mail, and 52.1% use telephone marketing
• Over ¾ of Hispanic marketers collect language preference/proficiency, age, and gender information
• 58% of the companies that market to Hispanics use non-email Internet marketing from among the online and new media channel options
• 53.7% of respondents say that non-catalog direct mail effectively boosts their response rates for Hispanic consumers
• At least half of those marketers who segment by the level of acculturation or by the number of generations that a family has been in the US say that the segmentation technique effectively increases response

 Please visit the DMA here for more details and the opportunity to purchase the complete study.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Friday, January 23, 2009

According to a new study by Epsilon on the importance of the subject line in an Email promotion, shorter subject lines do generally perform better than longer ones, but the relationship between subject line length and response is weaker than previously thought. Though the research showed that, overall, shorter subject lines correlate with higher open rates and click rates, subject line word order, word choice, and brand and audience awareness are also critical success factors.

A subject line is often the first opportunity an email marketer has to capture a consumer's attention, says Epsilon. Multiple analyses have shown that the subject line is the most important factor in driving overall response, from initial Epsilon clients the subject line is almost always the factor most responsible for open and click to eventual conversion. In more than 20 multivariate tests with triggering opens and clicks. Common sense also underscores the vital importance of the subject line; it is one of the few factors consumers consider when deciding whether to open an email.

Thane Stallings, Senior Analytic Consultant, Epsilon Strategic Services, says that "Companies are spending little time thinking about and testing subject lines, compared to the resources and time devoted to creative development. The reality is that more people will see a subject line than its accompanying creative."

However, the superiority of shorter subject lines (SLL) isn't solely a function of consumers' busy lives and short attention spans, says the report. In fact, SLL is often predetermined by technical constraints.

The Epsilon Whitepaper reports that Email domains often limit the number of subject line characters displayed by default in the inbox:

• AOL, which is responsible for approximately 22% of the U.S. email market, limits subject lines to roughly 38 characters
• Yahoo!, with 21% of U.S. email, has a approximate limit of 47 characters per subject line 
• Hotmail, which has 14% of the U.S. email market, uses word wrap to display subject lines on multiple lines, allowing approximately 45 characters per line

Therefore, 57% of U.S. email recipients see only the first 38 to 47 characters of a subject line when making the decision to open an email. Additionally, the growing reliance on mobile devices, and their smaller screens that display even fewer characters, affects this trend as well.

The report says that, given that most U.S. consumers see only the first 40 characters or so of a subject line, marketers should be careful to construct the subject line in such a way as to include the most vital information first. Epsilon calls this technique "pole position" writing. For one email campaign, the vital piece of information may be the brand name. For another, it may be the consumer benefit. Only systemized testing can reveal what works best in each situation and for each consumer population.

From an analysis of the impact of the more than one billion emails over nearly 20,000 separate campaigns sent out by a selection of US-based clients in the retail and consumer services industries, Epsilon concludes that because higher open and click rates depend on the optimum combination of SLL (subject line length) and content, marketers should keep in mind the following rules of thumb:

• Front load subject lines with the most important information
• Keep the subject line as short as possible to convey the message
• Use longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so
• When in doubt, test

Epsilon concludes that this new research confirms the widely held belief that, in most cases, shorter subject lines perform better. However, the research suggests that the way in which content and brand messaging are positioned can be as important to email success as the number of characters in the subject line. While a host of studies show that shorter subject lines improve email performance, Epsilon's research indicates that the relationship between SLL and performance is weaker than is widely believed. Other marketers have found that with specialized audiences, longer subject lines often deliver higher open and click rates. But in all cases, subject line content continues to be a vitally important element in delivering response.

Please explore the findings in greater detail at Epsilon.com here, or read the complete Whitepaper here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Thursday, January 22, 2009

According to a recent survey of more than 400 senior-level decision makers, conducted by PermissionTV,  online video is the top priority for digital marketing budgets, along with a strong preference among marketers for increased sophistication and interactivity in online video capabilities to promote their brands.

Matt Kaplan, VP of Solutions and Chief Strategy Officer of PermissionTV, said "... online video will play an increasingly critical role in all interactive campaigns... survey results demonstrate the strategic importance of online video in the overall marketing mix... as well as more sophisticated video experiences."

The study finds that more than two-thirds of respondents identified online video as a primary focus of their 2009 digital marketing campaigns, as respondents consider interactive video experiences to be the next evolution for online video. 62 percent believe that non-linear, interactive storytelling will become the most effective medium for marketers.

Linking to other videos, graphic overlays, user comments and user-defined contents paths are the most widely needed interactive capabilities for respondents. In Q2 of 2009, more than half of the respondents expect to be implementing or extending an online video project, whereas currently less than one-third are doing so.

More than two thirds of respondents reported that strengthening relationships with existing customers and prospects is the primary goal of online video initiatives.

The report notes that traditional and digital/interactive advertising agencies are are overwhelmingly confident in their ability to recommend online video initiatives to clients, though digital/interactive agencies expressed more confidence in recommending online video to clients. However, traditional agencies claim more responsibility for driving online video initiatives than digital/interactive agencies.

Chad Ciesil, President at WhittmanHart Interactive, said "We're recommending the use of online video in all of our client's campaigns as it can lead to greater customer engagement and better campaign ROI."

For additional information about this study, please visit PermissionTV here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

As Americans buy products, seek information, plan their social lives, and make personal and business decisions, the lines between media channels in the 21st century have become increasingly blurred, says the study report.

Along with a steep rise in the use of shopping Web sites among consumers, doubling from 2006 to 2008, 44% of those visiting shopping Web sites read consumer reviews and comments there, showing that these sites have transformed into virtual social gathering places and information destinations, rather than just a place to purchase goods.

Consumers are (frequently) placing more trust in the experiences of their online peers than they are on the retailer's product descriptions. This participatory media landscape, says the report, means media audiences are having just as much influence, if not more, as the content providers themselves.

 Nicholas Scibetta, Ketchum partner and director of the agency's Global Media Network, concludes that "... not only are people posting their thoughts via consumer-generated reviews, but they are also responding to each other's comments... (creating) pockets of social networks found all over the Web... conversations among readers, information seekers, and reviewers can be found from The New York Times and The Huffington Post, to YouTube, to the neighborhood blogger... with the widespread availability of such conversations, the lines that once separated mediums have now melded."

 Jerry Swerling, founder and director of the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center, says ".. it's a transformative time in which we are seeing outlets move from single-media to multi-media... "

Consumers are using a wider variety of channels than ever before. Newer channels, such as blogs and social networking sites, are gaining more and more traction. The survey found that 26% of consumers use social networking sites, compared to 17% in 2006. The usage of blogs nearly doubled (24% in 2008 compared to 13% in 2006).

Among influential consumers, the 10% to 15% of the population who initiate change in their communities, 32% read blogs written by journalists (vs. 8% of the general population), and:

• 43% read blogs by non-journalists, compared to 16% of the general population
• 70% of influencers use search engines, vs. 57% of the general population
• 43% of influencers use video-sharing Web sites, vs. 25% of the  general population
• 29% of influencers use specialty information portals (such as WebMD), vs.16% of the general population
• Influencers also use more new media such as videocasts (19%), RSS news feeds (15%), podcasts (12%), and mobile media (9%)

The use of more established media channels continues to wane. 65% of consumers use major network television news as a source of information (down from 71% in 2006). Local television news saw a sharper drop - 62% in 2008 compared to 74% in 2006.

Swerling concludes "... we've watched traditional mass communications give way to communications controlled by the masses... the melding of media is... demonstrated in the actions of legacy media, which are continuing to embrace and implement the principles of new media. Conversely, the journalistic principles that underline news organizations... accuracy, timeliness, objectivity... move to other delivery channels."

 For more information about melding media, please visit Ketchum here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

With this extraordinary growth, total annual revenues derived from mobile operators will grow by over a third, jumping from $769 billion in 2007 to $1.03 trillion six years later.

Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts 78% of global net additions between 2007 and 2013 to come from markets in Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America.

• 47% of the 1.9 billion global net adds will come from just five markets - India, China, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia.
• The mature markets of North America and Western Europe will contribute just 8% of total global net adds, reflecting the high level of saturation in these markets.

Globally, subscription penetration will approach the 75% mark in 2013, while some countries will push past the 150% barrier:

• Romania (152%)
• Russia (153%)
• Italy (168%)
• Ukraine (173%)
• Greece (183%)

Growth in subscriptions (the number of SIMs) will outstrip growth in subscribers (the number of unique users), pointing to greater mutli-SIM ownership, says the report. The global ratio of subscriptions to subscribers will increase from 1.29 in 2007 to 1.32 in 2013. In Western Europe, the ratio will reach 1.55 in 2013, and even higher (1.75) in Eastern Europe.

Chris Stamatakis, research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, says "... reductions in voice tariffs... low-denomination prepaid top-ups... and... availability of cheap 2G and 2.5G handsets will open... mobile services to low-income, low-ARPU subscribers who have never previously owned a mobile phone."

With voice revenue streams diminishing, industry players will encourage data spend among subscribers by innovating in non-voice services and differentiating their data service offerings from those of their competitors.

• 2G will remain the dominant technology generation by subscription numbers until 2013, as its market share will fall from 66.9% in 2007 to 32.7% in 2013, as 3G+ technologies gain ground.
• 3.5G technologies accounted for just 1.2% of total subscriptions in 2007, but will represent 22.9% of the global subscription base by 2013 and exceed the number of 3G subscriptions.

Stamatakis concludes that "... with migration to next-generation technologies already under way... (we) expect operators to focus increasingly on fulfilling consumers' growing demand for mobile broadband... becoming the long-sought killer app for mobile operators."

For more information from Informa, please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Monday, January 19, 2009

Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, MPA, says "... magazines have been affected by the economic slump... for longer-lead time monthlies, consumers cut spending during the summer... (causing) advertisers to put buy fewer ads in year-end magazine issues...  In the fall and early winter, rising unemployment and steep stock market declines led to restrained ad spending in weekly titles."

In 2008, declines were seen across the top 12 magazine advertising categories, in both PIB revenues and pages. The most significant decreases were seen in the most beleaguered of sectors: Automotive and Home Furnishings & Supplies. Financial, Insurance & Real Estate. Drugs & Remedies, also saw double-digit declines.

There were bright spots in some of the more recession-resistant subsectors, says the report. For example, ad page and revenue gains were seen for household soaps, cleansers & polishes, and discount department & variety stories within the Retail category, reflecting a budget-conscious environment. In the fourth quarter specifically, growth was seen within Food & Food Products, for basics like dairy, produce and meats; within Apparel & Accessories, for clothing accessories like handbags or hats; as well as within Toiletries & Cosmetics, for personal hygiene & health products.

Please visit these links for magazine totals 2008 Full Year, ad revenue, for magazine totals 4th quarter, ad pages, or for magazine category totals, year 2008 and 4th quarter.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Friday, January 16, 2009

According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, the Internet has now surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and international news. Currently, 40% of the survey respondents say they get most of their news about national and international issues from the internet, up from just 24% in September 2007. For the first time in a Pew survey, more people say they rely mostly on the internet for news than cite newspapers. Television continues to be cited most frequently as a main source for national and international news.

For young people, however, the internet now rivals television as a main source of national and international news. Nearly six-in-ten Americans younger than 30 (59%) say they get most of their national and international news online; an identical percentage cites television. In September 2007, twice as many young people said they relied mostly on television for news than mentioned the internet (68% vs. 34%).

The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 3-7 among 1,489 adults, finds there has been little change in the individual TV news outlets that people rely on for national and international news:

• 23% of the public says they get most of their news from CNN
• 17% cite Fox News;
• Smaller shares mention other cable and broadcast outlets

While the 2008 presidential campaign attracted high levels of public attention, the economy was the top story of the year in terms of news interest, according to Pew's Weekly News Interest Index. In late September, as the nation's financial crisis deepened, 70% said they were following news about the economy very closely. That ranks among the highest levels of news interest for any story in the past two decades.

And, from eMarketer, a recent report confirming that, without sugarcoating, "the outlook for newspaper publishers in the US is dismal." eMarketer estimates that newspaper advertising revenues declined 16.4% in 2008 to $37.9 billion.

Carol Krol, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Newspapers in Crisis: Migrating Online, says "... newspaper revenues are falling more than in any other major medium... even... classified advertising is plummeting due to craigslist and other online alternatives."

The financial pressure on newspapers is enormous, says the report. Ms. Krol continues "... newspaper publishers are beefing up their Websites... "but online ad revenues, which offered a glimmer of hope, are now falling."

The Newspaper Association of America tracked two consecutive quarters of declining revenues for newspapers online for Q2 and Q3 of 2008, the first time that has occurred since it began tracking online figures in 2003.

For 2008, eMarketer estimates online newspaper ad revenues declined by 0.4% overall compared with 2007, to $3.2 billion, and forecasts they will drop further into negative territory in 2009, down 4.7% to $3 billion.

The "State of the News Media 2008" report describes the dilemma as a decoupling of news and advertising: "... the emerging reality is that advertising isn't migrating online with the consumer... new business models beyond advertising may be required," says Ms. Krol.

For additional information about the PEW report, please visit here. To learn more from the eMarketer article, please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Marketers expressed concern on how a recession would impact priorities moving forward, and half of the executives believe their marketing budgets will decrease in 2009, while 56% indicated their staffing plans will either stay the same or increase.

The Top Five Trends:

I  Insight and innovation are viewed as keys to combat down economic and business cycles. 72% of respondents indicated that innovation efforts would stay the same or increase, while 39% say their use of market research will increase in the next year. This is significant given that most marketing experts agree it's imperative to innovate and mine insights during a recession, Anderson Analytics said.

II   Customer satisfaction and customer retention remained the top two marketing concepts followed by marketing ROI, brand loyalty and segmentation, which represents a "Back to Core Principles" approach to marketing. Of the 62 identified marketing concepts, faith-based marketing, six sigma, game theory, anti-americanism and immigration were viewed as the least important.

Of the 62 identified marketing concepts, faith-based marketing, six sigma, game theory, anti-Americanism and immigration were viewed as the least important.

• 55   Selective Outsourcing   10%
• 56   Text Analytics                10%
• 57   Off Shoring                     8%
• 58   Immigration                    8%
• 59   Anti-Americanism          7%
• 60   Game Theory                5%
• 61   Six Sigma                      5%
• Faith Based (Religion)         4%

Source: MENG & Anderson Analytics, January 2009

Among the marketing concepts rated as important by more executives, Customer Retention, Marketing ROI, Lead Generation and Alternative Energy showed the largest increases from last year.

III  The issue of global warming showed the largest decrease in importance (dropping 14 places in the rankings), while green marketing showed a statistically significant 5% drop.

IV  Twice as many marketers are "sick" of hearing about Web 2.0 and related buzzwords such as "blogs" and "social networking" compared to last year's survey; however, marketers still admit they don't know enough about it. This was evident in the results of a social media study MENG released on November 6, 2008 showing 67% of executive marketers consider themselves beginners when it comes to using social media for marketing purposes.

V   Despite well-publicized quality issues over the last year, China ranked the number one greatest area of opportunity for 53% of the marketers with international responsibility. India was a distant second with only 17% of respondents.

Offshoring, however, has significantly diminished in favor as more executives this year (58% vs. 49% in 2008) agreed that offshoring 'is not as profitable as others think, and is fraught with risk'. Marketing executives also still feel Boomers represent the best opportunity for customer targeting, while the perceived importance of Generation X and Generation Y grew significantly compared to 2008.

The main sources of marketing inspiration remained practically the same this year. Good to Great remained the most widely read and most recommended book. However, several new books appeared on the reading list this year including:

Groundswell, Hot Flat and Crowded, The Black Swan, Predictably Irrational, Mavericks at Work, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, The Art of the Start, Purple Cow, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, and Our Iceberg is Melting.

Similarly to the books, the number one business Guru last year, Seth Godin, remained the favorite marketing guru for 2009. However, Warren Buffet and Malcolm Gladwell increased significantly in popularity and now occupy second and third place, respectively. Jim Stengel also made the Marketing Guru list for the first time this year. Seth Godin was mentioned by most executives as the most important marketing/business Guru for two years in a row

Tom H.C. Anderson, managing partner of Anderson Analytics, concludes by saying "This year we saw an increase in importance in several areas, not just 'customer satisfaction' and 'retention'. There were also significant increases in the importance of marketing concepts like 'CRM', 'Data Mining', 'Leading Through Analytics'... together with interest in books like The Black Swan and optimism on Market Research budgets... signals marketing executives realize that in a down economy it's even more important to utilize information efficiently and keep the customers you have."

Anderson Analytics conducted the Marketing Trends Survey among current MENG members between November 15 and December 2 of 2008. The responses yield overall statistics with a confidence interval of +/-3.86% at the 95% confidence level.

For more from the release by MENG, visit here, or for a complete copy of survey results, please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The least educated, least affluent, and oldest Americans are those who least often use the Internet, with about one-third or fewer in each group saying they use the Internet more than one hour per day. Smaller gaps exist between men and women, and the employed versus the non-working.